It has been a beehive of activities at the Arc. Sonny Echono-led Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) in the last one week. From inaugurating three committees on skills development, playing host to the Governor of Kwara State and Chairman, Nigerian Governors Forum, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq and his Kogi State counterpart, Ahmed Ododo, the Fund’s Abuja Headquarters was indeed a centre of actions in the week under review.

First was the inauguration of three ad-hoc panels tasked with upscaling skills development in the country as well as strengthening the Fund’s intervention activities. They included Committees on Operationalisation of Equipment Upgrade in Workshops and Laboratories for Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education (Technical); Assessment and Review of TETFund Centres of Excellence as well as the Operationalisation of Skills Development Special Intervention.

Speaking at the inauguration of the three committees, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Echono, charged members to ensure that the various facilities for skills development are put to effective operations. He noted that promotion of skills development was one of the priority areas of the government to address the prevailing challenges of youth unemployment and prevalence of poverty in the society.

Echono, who has set very enviable standards since his appointment last year, explained that the Fund made provisions under the 2024 intervention for the upgrade of equipment in workshops and laboratories for universities, polytechnics and Colleges of Education (Technical).

He noted that to ensure effective implementation of the interventions, the Fund constituted an Advisory Committee, chaired by Prof. Hayward Babale, to advise on the upgrade of equipment in workshops and laboratories of the institutions.

The committee was tasked with the responsibility of assessing the state of workshops and laboratories in target institutions, including equipment and other facilities in use.

For the Committee on Assessment/Review of TETFund Centres of Excellence, Echono said the Fund under the 2024 Intervention made provisions for the upgrade of the most performing centres.

“Consequently, the Fund considered it expedient to constitute an Ad-hoc Committee chaired by Prof. Oyewale Tomori to assess and review the performance and progress of the Centres in the universities in line with their specific mandates.

“The Terms of Reference for the Committee include assessing performance of the existing TETFund Centres of Excellence hosted in universities based on their given mandates and areas of specialisation, among others,” he said.

The TETFund boss also said that the Fund was committed to the promotion of skills development; hence, provision was made for skill development programme in polytechnics under the Fund’s Special Interventions.

He said that consequently, the Fund constituted an advisory Committee chaired by the Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Prof. Idris Bugaje, to advice on the modalities.

He charged the committee to assess the present state of skills development programmes in polytechnics based on the entrepreneurship and skills development policy of the government.
The committees were tasked to submit their reports within six weeks from the day they were constituted.

Responding, the Chairman, Committee on Operationalisation of Skills Development Special Intervention, Bugaje, commended the Fund for investing in skills development.
Meanwhile, the intervention agency has said it would support the Kwara State government in its effort to convert all three Colleges of Education in the state to universities of education.

Echono gave the assurance while hosting the Governor of Kwara State and Chairman, Nigerian Governors Forum, Abdulrahman AbdulRasaq.
He promised the governor of TETFund’s continuous partnership with institutions in order to achieve the Federal Government’s goals of creating a level playing ground for youths to contribute meaningfully to national growth and development, even as he lauded the state for being a pacesetter in education in the northern part of the country.

He said: “We thank you for the very kind words you have expressed. We want to underline and give assurances of our continued support. Kwara has always led the North even from the colonial period in education. And that has reflected also in the number of institutions that you have.

“I know you have three Colleges of Education. I am glad you are trying to do some conversion to universities of education now. Since 2020, we had focused more on Ilorin. So Lafiagi has suffered a little bit because of the numbers. But if they get converted, that gives us the opportunity to focus on the two more effectively,” he said.

Earlier, Abdulrasaq hailed TETFund for the infrastructure development of higher institutions in the state, stressing that it has enhanced growth and development of education in the state.

The governor, who led some serving members of the National Assembly on the visit, commended TETFund’s management for various projects funded in the state’s tertiary institutions.

He noted that the intervention agency has contributed in no small measures to the state’s drive for economic reengineering, even as he called for more support.
He also called for assistance in the areas of security and water sanitation in the state’s institutions.

“We will seek for more assistance. In Kwara now, we are trying to convert all our Colleges of Education to universities of education. So, we need your assistance to do that. But with what you have done for us, it is easy to convert them because the structures are there. This visit is to tell you that you are doing a good job. And on behalf of the people and government of Kwara State, we say thank you for the job you have done. We appreciate you,” he said.

Similarly, Governor Ahmed Ododo of Kogi State has appealed for more intervention projects from TETFund for the state-owned institutions.

The governor, who made the appeal during a visit to TETFund headquarters in Abuja, stressed the importance of human capital development in confronting challenges of underdevelopment, poverty and unemployment.

Ododo, who thanked the Echono-led TETFund for its interventions across federal and state tertiary institutions in the state, specifically appealed for more support for the newly established Kogi State University, Kabba.

He said that the premium placed on education informed his decision to earmark 40 per cent of the 2024 state budget to the education sector.
“I have come in appreciation for the support and interventions we have received so far from this institution, TETFund. The infrastructural development of our higher institutions is not unnoticed.

“Education is the foundation for the development and progress of any community. As such, education is a base on which the entire structure of human development stands. For us in Kogi State, education is one of our top priorities. In our 2024 budget, education accounts for 40 per cent and we are implementing it jealously because once you are educated, the entire community will be placed on the path of development.

“I want to thank you for your leadership and the support we have received so far for our various tertiary institutions in Kogi State. I want to thank the members of this institution; they have been of immense support. I want to promise that Kogi State will work with this institution collaboratively to ensure that the human capital development of Mr. President’s Renewed Hope agenda is achieved,” the governor said.

Ododo added that in Kogi State, his government would continue to partner with TETFund as it is one the reasons institutions are flying high.
“We are going to scale up the level of educational infrastructure and empower our scholars and students.
“As it is today, we have three state tertiary institutions in Kogi State and they are all working effectively and seamlessly,” he added.

Ododo listed the higher institutions that have received support from the intervention agency to include, Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba; Confluence University of Science and Technology; Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja; College of Education, Ankpa as well as College of Education (Technical), Kabba.

Responding, Echono pledged to increase TETFund’s interventions for tertiary institutions in the state.